Russia, France and Germany urge Iran to stay in the nuclear deal

Tabnak – Despite their failure to provide Iran with tangible benefits of the 2015 nuclear deal, the remaining parties of the deal reiterate to save it from a total collapse. Meanwhile, France says the European countries are under huge US pressure for their attempts to preserve trade relations with Iran.

In the latest developments regarding the Iran nuclear deal, Russia, France and Germany issued a joint statement today, voicing their support for the deal and saying that the agreement plays a key role in maintaining global security.

“During the discussion of the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, the importance of preserving this agreement, which is a key factor in maintaining international stability and security, was noted. Russia, France and Germany reaffirmed their commitment to further mutually beneficial cooperation with Iran in trade and economy,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

It came after Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron held separate phone conversations on Tuesday. Merkel’s office also confirmed that the trio had “underlined the need to persuade Iran to remain in the nuclear agreement, which they agreed to maintain.”

Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says France, Germany and Britain are coming under immense pressure from the US to cancel out their proposed trade channel with Iran, which has yet to see the light of day.

The three countries have been tinkering with a much-hyped special trade vehicle known as INSTEX that purports to circumvent US sanctions and keep some semblance of business channels open to Iran.

Speaking to reporters in Paris Tuesday, Le Maire claimed that Iran’s pledge to withdraw from the agreement was making talks on creating the trade channel difficult. “Iran is constantly threatening to break the agreement and that doesn’t facilitate the possibility of trade,” he said.

Le Maire also said the three European powers were facing huge pressure from the United States to drop the trade channel. “Yes, there is American pressure. It’s strong, very strong and very direct on this subject,” Le Maire said. “There is pressure on political officials, the administration and all those who are implicated on this subject.”

However, in another development on Tuesday, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna said that the nuclear agreement is still in place largely due to Iran’s “responsible attitude.”

“For now nobody can say that the nuclear deal with Iran is dead,” Mikhail Ulyanov said. “It’s one year since the US pullout from the JCPOA, but the agreement remains effective, largely because the Iranians have taken a very responsible attitude. They adhere to it scrupulously. As for the other part of the deal, which is expected to serve as an incentive for implementing the nuclear part, it has been nearly ruined.”

On May 16, Iran began to implement its decision to stop honoring certain commitments under the deal due to the other parties’ failure to honor theirs.

Iran’s move came after the US administration renewed five of seven sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European nations to conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran but revoked the other two as part of its pressure campaign against Tehran.